Leaked iPod Touch With Camera Appears On Ebay

Two iPod touch units appeared on eBay this morning, in typical shady form, sporting a built-in camera. There was speculation last September that 3rd generation iPod touch’s would include a camera. As we saw, the iPod nano got the camera upgrade and the touch was left out in the cold. Interestingly, these devices were not touted as fourth generation, prerelease models but rather older, ‘R&D’ 3rd generation prototypes that never reached production.

The original description for these items read, “Well..These were R & D units..One wont turn off and has some wierd OS…or lack of firmware So it will be dead when you get it,,,but will power up when you plug it in…The other won’t turn on has a brown spot on the screen. Both have cameras”.

Marked as DVT-1 and DVT-2 respectively, these devices appear to have originated from the Apple Development Team. Along with the camera, these devices appear to be running an unreleased version of the iPod OS. Referred to as “switchboard”, this operating system is clearly an internal build used for testing prerelease hardware. Don’t get your hopes up, I doubt this firmware will ever reach our hands.

The seller of this product didn’t give any straight answers regarding the origin of these iPods. In response to a buyer question, he wrote, “Sorry… Have no idea… I bought them from a guy at a flea market and he bought them from a live auction here in the Bay Area.” Not the most reaffirming answer so take these pictures with a grain of salt. Obviously Apple is looking to add a camera to their iPod touch line-up but I doubt these “R&D” units will ever reach the consumers hands.